Simplity 4037+Megan Nielsen's Ruched Top= Perfection!

When I blogged about my Ruched maternity top, I had mentioned that I'd really like to adapt it to have the gathered neckline of my non-maternity TNT S4037.  I had also noticed that the shoulders of the Ruched top aren't quite "fitted" (the back was much too big--the pattern piece for the sleeve was symmetrical) so I figured while I was at it I would just go ahead & use the neckline, shoulders & sleeves from S4037. Easy enough, right??

Eh. I first traced the S4037 pattern pieces & kind of merged them with the Ruched top pattern pieces. Then I decided to read my review on S4037 before I went ahead & cut out my fabric. And it's a good thing I did. Originally I had sewn up a size 10, but this time I traced an 8 in the shoulders.

So then I had to trace it again. With the right size this time.  I thought it would be pretty straight forward--neck, shoulder & armholes from S4037 & then from the bust on down would be my Ruched top.  But I couldn't figure out where the patterns should match up. The shoulders?? They weren't even similar--which was so bizarre because I totally thought "honestly--how different can shoulders be??" Very.  Same for the necklines, and armholes.  All very different; which makes sense because, well, what would be the point of merging 2 different patterns if they were "very similar"??

Anyway, I just kept tracing.  And when I'm done, I look at my "back" piece & it was really short! It was then that I determined a muslin was no longer optional.  I hastily hacked out the front & back piece, ruched the front piece, attempted to sew them together and that's when it became clear that something went terribly wrong. The front piece was fine, but as I suspected, the back piece was crazy short. So I went back to tracing, but this time I started at the bottom of the Ruched piece & merged it into S4037. And this is what I ended up with:

It is by far my favorite top! I've been wearing it a ton & I think the next one I make I will go ahead & lengthen the back just a bit; maybe an inch, just to ensure extra coverage. I hate it when my top rides up & you can see the maternity panel on my pants.

Also, this is my new favorite fabric. It is Robert Kaufman's Laguna stretch knit & it is absolutely perfect. Thick enough to not need to wear a cami underneath (so many knits are see-through!) but it has 4 way stretch. It comes in a ton of colors and I have 6 more yards on the way to me now (turquoise, hot pink & black...part of it will become a maxi skirt or two)

And also (wow! This is getting long) I refashioned this skirt from a pair of jeans :) I rushed the hem (when will I ever learn?!) but it's still wearable.  I'll take more care next time. :)